The same safe and trusted content for explorers of all ages. The date on which the Wall "fell" is considered to have been 9 Novemberbut the whole wall was not torn down immediately.

Quiz: Cold War - Berlin Wall

Introduction The Berlin Wall was a structure that once surrounded part of the city of BerlinGermany. After a while, three of the countries combined their parts to form West Germany.

The East German government tried to stop people from leaving by building the Berlin Wall. Take a minute to check out all the enhancements! In the years between andabout 2. Europe was divided after World War Two West Germany was run in a similar way to how Britain and America is today with people free to move around, listen to whatever music they liked and express their opinions.

It was eventually knocked down in and to mark the 25th anniversary of that historic event here's Newsround's guide to what it was, how it was built and the effect it had on people's lives.

Background

To learn more about the Cold War: Tension and division It soon became clear that the Soviet Union had very different ideas to the others about how their section should be run. Activities Take a ten question quiz about this page. On October 3, Germany was officially reunified into a single country. They later built a more permanent structure of concrete walls topped with barbed wire.

A few years later on November 9, the announcement was made. Despite the fact that the four nations are allies during World War II, tensions between the Soviet Union and the other three nations are at an all-time high. Getty Images The wall was 12 feet high and 96 miles long The wall became a symbol of the division in Europe between the west and the east and was called the 'iron curtain'.

Over the course of the years toover 2 million people essay clincher sentence the country. People who had previously worked in West Berlin lost their jobs.

Guide: What was the Berlin Wall? - CBBC Newsround

The Soviet and East German leaders began to worry that they were losing too many people. Many Germans feel the wall will never come down. By the s this system of walls, electrified fences, and fortifications extended 28 miles 45 kilometers through Berlin, dividing the two parts of the city, and extended a further 75 miles kilometers around West Berlin, separating it from the rest of East Germany.

Soviet and East German troops create a series of barbed wire fences and trenches to prevent citizens from crossing.

Berlin Wall

Many people still tried to escape, however. Berlin became its capital.

On August 13,the border between East and West Berlin is closed. Your browser does not support the audio element.

The Berlin Wall – ESL Library

Violators are subject to three years' imprisonment. Thousands of people from East Germany went to the wall and demanded the guards open the gates. The wall was up to 15 feet 5 meters high in some places. Accessible across all of today's devices: The fact that Berlin's physical location is in East Germany makes it relatively easy for East Germans to sneak into the West German-held sector of Berlin and become free citizens.

The four main countries that had won each took control of part of Germany.

The government finally destroyed the Wall in although parts of it have been left for people to see today.

Restrictions Increase

East Germany was much stricter with tight rules on how people should behave and a police force that monitored what they did. What was life like?

What happened to the wall? By the s the whole structure extended 28 miles 45 kilometers through Berlin. What was the Berlin Wall? It was constructed really quickly overnight on the 13 August so many people woke up to find they were trapped on one side, often separated from their friends and family in the West. It was built in order to prevent people from fleeing East Berlin.

Around were killed trying to escape.

Berlin was in the Soviet zone but as the capital of Germany it was decided that it would also be divided into four areas, one controlled by each of the four countries. It was originally a 96 mile barbed wire fence but was later rebuilt because people were able to climb over it.

The wall was improved over the next decade with the construction of more concrete barriers and watchtowers. In that year the East German government was forced out of power. Descriptive essay means after that the Berlin Wall was officially torn down.

It is thought more than people were killed trying to cross the Wall in the 29 years between and How big was it? It stretched a further 75 miles kilometers around West Berlin.

These people were called defectors. At about The wall separated East Berlin and West Berlin.

It is thought more than people were killed trying to cross the Wall in the 29 years between and

They were losing their hold on East Germany.

The Rise & Fall of the Berlin Wall: Important Facts to Know

Back to the Cold War summary page. Although the East Germans tried to keep people from leaving, it was fairly easy for people to leave the city of Berlin because the inside of the city was controlled by all four major powers.